Being a Virtual Receptionist

Being a Virtual Receptionist

I wanted to share a quick story today to show you just how amazing being a virtual receptionist can be!

Ever wonder what it would be like to be a virtual receptionist? Besides being the first point of contact for a variety of companies, a virtual receptionist role can be quite demanding. Here is a look into my life as a virtual receptionist and what it takes to do my job.

I always get asked; “What is it that you do as a Virtual Receptionist?”. I work for Turn Key Receptionists a Virtual Receptionist company based in Sydney, Australia. On any given day the team answers anywhere from 100 to 300 calls, and we always ensure that the initial contact we make with these callers is a positive, professional and friendly one.

It’s our job to manage the flow of calls, direct them to the right people with the right company, manage the bookings, look after the meetings and scheduling appointments, gathering as much information about the caller and updating the therapists or employees on any appointment changes, to name a few. But each day is different, and each call is subject to a variety of tasks.

Before we go live on calls, we go through a strict training process; we do a test at the end and get a certificate. Training includes what to say, what not to say, how to sound polite and friendly and how to handle difficult callers. The training process is on-going, we self-grade our calls so we can self-improve. We also get extensive training in video format on how to handle each new company that joins.

The support and teamwork in our online chats are amazing. I have never been a part of a group of women who help and support each other quite like the virtual receptionists at Turn Key.

The skills anyone needs to be an outstanding virtual receptionist would be to know how to communicate, make callers feel comfortable and present a positive friendly company image. How you sound is very important so being polite and professional is essential.

You are often the first impression a caller gets of the business, and it’s your job to make sure it’s a good one. Being courteous, respectful and helpful is always important. Being diligent and able to multitask is also key. At any given time, we could be doing a variety of tasks like answering phone calls, taking messages, booking appointments, answering questions, emailing or even dealing with difficult callers.

A typical day for the team doesn’t exist! Every day is different which is why I love my job. It’s never boring! It usually starts by checking in with the team and asking how the calls went. Asking if there is anything anyone needs before you log off from your shift at the end of the day. Making sure the company profiles are up to date for each of our clients, prioritizing what needs to be done and just making sure tasks are completed when they come in.

Turn Key virtual receptionists have 99.9% on-call answering accuracy. Luckily, this means any company can trust that their calls are being answered, handled and transferred to the right people.

My advice to anyone who wants to be a virtual receptionist; you must be a real people person, even if you have had a bad day. You are, after all, the first person a caller is speaking to when they call the company. What you bring to the table tells people a lot about the company they’re about to deal with. We’re very serious about providing excellent and accurate customer experiences on our calls…. I love my job because I’m making an impact.